Children have been evacuated from a burning school bus north of Brisbane.Emergency services were called to the fire on the Redcliffe Peninsula's major arterial road about 8am but there were no reports of injuries.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said a crew arrived about 10 minutes later and had the fire under control but not extinguished.Kangaroo Bus Lines managing director Daryl Webster said the fire appeared to have started in the engine bay and the company would investigate what went wrong."The kids are all off the bus and safe, which is the main thing but other than that I have no details of what may or may not have caused it. I'm not too sure," he said."They've already been transported as far as I know onto another bus and to school.

"The driver used both the fire extinguishers in the bus to try and put it out but unfortunately he run out of powder before he could really get it out."Mr Webster said the bus was relatively new, from 2008, and was believed to be taking kids to various schools on the Redcliffe Peninsula.A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said there were children on board the bus but they were not injured.Neither Mr Webster nor the QAS spokeswoman knew how many passengers were on board when the bus caught fire on Anzac Avenue eastbound at Rothwell, near Wattle Road.

Reminder Qconnect single routes timetable in Toowoomba will be last service this Friday 16th June, also next Saturday will be very last day of their old single routes as next Monday is the first day of new translinks 3 digits routes service, anyone keen go there and grab some of old timetable to keep for memories, I know on website.

next Friday 16th last weekdays timetable is Route 6 final arrive at Toowoomba bus station at 6:45pm.next Saturdays last timetable is Route 4s final arrive at USQ at 5:15pm.

This seems to be a combination of spin, how to lie with statistics, and standard management bleating. Although some causes are beyond management control, management has lost the ability to cope.How would the cancellations look if the permanent ones were added to each day's figures?I haven't tried to work out what the coloured graph means: designed to dazzle readers, like the three-shell trick in USA fairground sideshows.

Roderick

June 11 2017 Queensland Rail data shows cancellations of services stabilising .Queensland Rail cancellations have improved significantly since the mass disruptions in October that exposed flaws in the organisation.From mid-October to mid-February, an average of 118 services were cancelled per week.More videos 'Two years to have enough drivers'.Transport minister Stirling Hinchliffe resigns as a review into Queensland Rail finds an organisation "reluctant to share bad news". Courtesty ABC News 24Whereas between mid-February and May, the weekly average dropped to 34, which represents about 0.5 per cent of all scheduled services across the network.Those figures exclude the last week of March, when the network was impacted by flooding in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie, forcing the closure of several lines.Cancellations appear to have stabilised on the Queensland Rail network after disruptions last year. Photo: Jorge Branco .But even with the extreme weather event included, the average for the past three months would be 85 cancelled services per week on average.The Gold Coast, Beenleigh and Shorncliffe lines were the worst-hit by cancellations during the week starting March 27 – the week Cyclone Debbie struck.Brisbane was pelted with heavy rain in the aftermath of the cyclone from late on March 29. Across the network, 8.86 per cent of services were cancelled over the week starting March 27.Some of the damage Queensland Rail workers had to contend with following the rain brought to south-east Queensland by ex-Cyclone Debbie. Photo: Queensland Rail .This graph of network cancellations shows the network appearing to stabilise, apart from a spike attributed to Cyclone Debbie.Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad said Queensland Rail was getting back on track. Photo: Chris Hyde.Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the figures showed a huge 70 per cent decrease in service cancellations.Ms Trad said she promised the return of sustainable and reliable services when she became transport minister in February."I'm very pleased to report that we are well on our way to achieving that," she said."While there is more work to be done, these figures show a very encouraging trend that demonstrates that we are getting Queensland Rail back on track."Queensland Rail has been under fire since October 21, when 167 services were cancelled and numerous issues were uncovered that led to the wide-ranging Strachan inquiry, several top QR employees resigning and the resignation of transport minister Stirling Hinchliffe, despite being cleared of responsibility.The saga was sparked following the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula line on October 4, despite two external agencies warning QR months earlier it did not have enough drivers and guards to meet the increased timetable.There were also 261 services cancelled on Christmas Day.A "confluence of infrastructure mishaps and misfires" including storm damage and a broken-down train caused lengthy delays on December 8, leading to more than $300,000 in refunds being paid to commuters.Commuters also faced delays on January 30 after a telemetry failure on the Redcliffe Peninsula Line.QR chief executive officer Nick Easy said by implementing the Strachan inquiry recommendations, QR had a much stronger focus on forward planning, managing resources and preventing faults.Mr Easy said the results of that plan were clear in the new cancellation statistics."It's very positive to see service cancellations in steady decline, but it's also important to remember that in any mass transit system in the world, cancellations cannot be completely avoided," he said."We will continue to work hard at preventing issues on our trains and track, but from time to time incidents beyond our control do occur, and in those instances our focus is on recovering the network as quickly as safely as possible."Services can be disrupted by medical emergencies, bridge strikes, extreme weather and police incidents.http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensl ... woz67.html* Given time anything can be improved makes one wonder how it occurred in first instance and why has it lasted so long as it plays a important part in the lives of so many people Dependant on QR to get them to and from work places.* And yet you still cannot get a train direct from Strathpine to Caboolture. Shame, Jackie Trad, shame!* With the inception of the Redcliffe line one would have expected the section Petrie to Northgate would have been given a train every 15 minutes off peak. When all express services were removed in a previous timetable QR stated that it saved very little time. They can't have it both ways. But when you consider that QR passenger trains only carry customers you have to wonder if they know what a railway is.* And what has your comment to do with the story? Ever considered that there may be not enough demand and QR may not know about your personal preferences?* particularly when one train runs a few minutes late, misses the connection at Petrie, then you face a 30min wait.* Important to note that these stats don't include services that were removed from the timetables in ~November when they couldn't be delivered following the Redcliffe Peninsula line debacle. Taking a service off the timetable means it isn't a "cancellation", but there's still no train at the station...* The issue the shortage of train drivers should never occurred. Sydney had the same problem a few years ago.* Didn't they introduce a new timetable with fewer services, and isn't this what they are measured against?If so, I would sure hope the percentage cancelations improved.Having said that it still ain't anything to talk up cause you still stuffed it in the first place.

What caused QR commuter chaos on 28.6? June 29, 2017.QUEENSLAND’S beleaguered rail operator was under fire again last night after an electrical fault shut down the southeast Queensland network, sparking peak-hour chaos and hours of delays. It is understood a circuit breaker tripped and caused a communications failure which stopped all Queensland Rail services from 5.12pm to 6.30pm, but a lack of information led some commuters to initially fear a security threat.SCROLL DOWN TO SEE HOW IT ALL UNFOLDEDLast night’s network meltdown is the latest issue for the rail operator, which has been battling to fix a driver shortage responsible for mass service cancellations last year.Commuters waiting at two of Brisbane’s busiest train stations – Central and Fortitude Valley – last night said they feared it was a security threat and a lack of communication from QR com­pounded their fears.QR chief executive Nick Easy said the issue was caused by a loss of power at a Mt Coot-tha radio tower and apologised to customers.“Just after 5pm ... we experienced a communication issue between our Control Centre and our network. Trains were suspended between Central station and Toombul, Doomben, Airport and Mitchelton stations and major delays were experienced across all lines as a consequence.“Our crews worked as quickly as possible to resolve this issue and communication and services were restored at approximately 6:30pm.“Our early investigations indicate that the issue was caused by a loss of power at a radio tower on Mount Coot-tha. Our crews were onsite at Mount Coot-tha at approximately 6:20pm and identified that our tower site had lost power. They immediately worked to rectify this and trains were resumed approximately 10 minutes later.“We will undertake a full investigation to understand the cause of the incident and ensure a similar incident does not happen again.”This morning, Mr Easy again promised to get to the bottom of last night’s failure, saying Queensland Rail investigators will today look at how a secondary power supply for their Mt Coot-tha communications tower failed.Mr Easy told ABC Radio there was a “redundancy” system in place if the the primary telecommunication facilities was to lose power, but he is unsure how long it lasted for.“There still was a problem that had to be rectified so our investigation will have a close look at that,” he said.“Clearly our objective is to ensure this doesn’t happen again, I am confident that we will be able to get to the bottom of what occurred and ensuring not only the primary but the secondary system will ensure on going communications moving forward.”Mr Easy reiterated that once Queensland Rail technicians were able to locate the source of the problem, they were able to fix it quite quickly.“My suspicion here is the investigation will lend itself to what type of warning or alarm systems are in place when you move from a primary to a secondary source,” he said.While Queensland Rail is in the process of moving towards a digital radio communications system, Mr Easy said it did not contribute at all to yesterday’s failure.It has also been announced that commuters who travelled on Citytrains after 5pm yesterday will receive refunds on any fares paid.Opposition transport spokesman Andrew Powell said it was ­unacceptable for the entire rail network to be shut down for so long.Frustrated customers took to social media to complain about delays at stations all over the regionIn a statement issued to the media, Queensland Rail’s Chief Executive Officer Nick Easy saidthe issue was caused by a loss of power at a radio tower at Mt Coot-tha.www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ ... 9ad34265bb

July 5 2017 'It's not safe': Frustration over Fortitude Valley station access .Train commuters are walking into one of Brisbane's busiest train stations in the dark, past boarded-off escalators, with lights turned off due to a two-decade dispute with two private land holders in Fortitude Valley.The two land holders own significant buildings adjacent to Fortitude Valley train station, but are unwilling to spend money to maintain their properties, meaning hundreds of commuters from Wickham Street or the McWhirter's building walk through the dark, past derelict, graffittied and abandoned properties to catch a train.Commuters walking through the dark into Fortitude Valley train station on Tuesday. Photo: Tony Moore .It was a situation that appeared to frustrate Queensland Rail chief executive Nick Easy."This precinct is owned by a number of stakeholders and has multiple tenures," he said.Rod Bligh and LNP candidate Jamie Forster say urgent safety improvements are needed. Photo: Tony Moore ."We have been working with all parties over a period of time and will continue to do so, to seek improvements for our customers."Now, key Valley businessman Rod Bligh and Liberal National Party state candidate Jamie Forster – in one of the earliest opening salvos for the next Queensland election – say it is time the Queensland government acquired the properties to fix the problems.Mr Bligh, Queensland's 2015 Engineer of the Year, and a member of the LNP and the Valley Chamber of Commerce, said he was embarrassed by the poor access to the station and described it as "the main stumbling block in the regeneration of Fortitude Valley"."The access off Wickham Street has been closed, the escalators have been closed for more a year and there are problems with the access across from the McWhirter's building," Mr Bligh saidThe buildings are being allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. Photo: Tammy Law . "There are no lights."Mr Bligh, who has won engineering accolades for work with Brisbane's Northern Busway, the South East Busway and several buildings at the University of Queensland, said most commuters walked around to the "disappointing" Brunswick Street entrance."It just looks like you are entering a second rate shopping area, rather than entering a major public transport hub," he said."And when you think about all the other improvements that are going on in the Valley, this is the one piece of the puzzle that is holding the Valley back."Mr Bligh said the state government should now acquire the privately-owned buildings next to the Fortitude Valley train station."The state government runs the rail network, it is their public infrastructure," Mr Bligh said."I am certainly no expert in this area, but I think that is something that the government should take on board as an option."Mr Forster, the LNP candidate for the newly renamed McConnel (formerly Brisbane Central), held by Labor's Grace Grace for three terms since 2007, said decisive action was needed."This has been going on for decades," Mr Forster said."It is just dark and unpleasant and potentially dangerous, particularly when you think how many students from Gregory Terrace or All Hallows, or St James go through there."I am calling on Grace Grace to make this a priority and to do something about this and not just blame other tiers of government."Ms Grace said Queensland Rail and other businesses had tried to negotiate a deal, "to no avail.""It's a bit rich for the LNP to now be pointing the finger at others, given their record of inaction and especially when this is a matter than can't be resolved by the state government alone," she said."When the issue reached its height in 2012, the LNP then won office and sat on their hands and did absolutely nothing to resolve the matter."Dr Chiu Fan Lee from Toowong owns the Waltons building, the walkway over Wickham Street and sections along Brunswick Street through his business, Mount Cathay Pty Ltd. Jack Moc owns the empty Chinese Club on Wickham Street, at the top of the inoperative escalators at at the station-side entrance to the walkway, through his company Happy Valley Pty Ltd.Comment was sought from both through real estate agent Glenn Gracie, who represents both businesses. He did not return calls from Fairfax Media.In February 2012, then-deputy premier Andrew Fraser suggested it was possible Transport and Main Roads could acquire a lease over the walkway between McWhirter's and Fortitude Valley station.Days later, then-transport minister and current Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed she would offer to licence a pedestrian access to the walkway over Wickham Street to resolve the issue.Five years on, businesses say the immediate area around the Valley train station – used by 15,000 commuters day - is the worst than they have seen for decades.The Valley was once Brisbane's retail hub and, despite some investment, fingers are now being pointed at the suburb's train station and threats to some of its Wickham Street heritage buildings, including the Waltons and McWhirter's buildings.Commuters walking through the 40-metre darkened walkway from the McWhirters Building into the train station told Fairfax Media on Tuesday night they were scared, with one woman saying: "Do something. It's terrible. It's just not safe."LaSalle Investment Management has made a development application to build three new entrances to Fortitude Valley station as part of its $500 million redevelopment of the site.Fairfax Media understands recent talks between LaSalle and the private property owners were unable to resolve the access issues.LaSalle plans 207 apartments in a 30-storey apartment tower in Alfred Street and a 23 storey commercial tower on the corner of Alfred and Constance Street.Last month, LaSalle Investment international director Ian Mackie said lease negotiations with Queensland Rail were moving more slowly."We're looking to breathe new life into the precinct, but we can't make a significant investment without security of tenure," he said.Comment was sought from ministers Anthony Lynham (State Development), Mark Bailey (Main Roads) and Jackie Trad (Transport).www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/its ... x59w8.html

Queensland Rail can't find enough new train drivers September 3, 2017.Talking points":•Phillip Strachan said problems did not stem from one issue, but compounding factors that accumulated over time.•The driver shortage became known following the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line, with hundreds of services cancelled.•Queensland Rail plans to hire 200 new drivers and 200 new guards to restore reliability.Queensland Rail has trained 35 of the 200 new train drivers needed to restore reliability to the timetable.Philip Strachan's inquiry into the failings at QR that led to mass cancellations in 2016 found there was a shortage of drivers and an over-reliance on overtime to meet an expanded timetable after the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line.Queensland Rail has 35 of the 200 required new train drivers working on its network. Photo: Tammy Law Mr Strachan recommended opening driver and guard recruitment to external applicants with no prior rail experience - and hiring 200 new train drivers and 200 new guards - but, in February, the door was only opened to people with prior QR experience.Fairfax Media can reveal more than 100 trainee drivers and 260 trainee guards have been recruited.There are now 35 new drivers and 97 guards fully qualified and working on the network.In July, that number was 28 drivers behind the console and 77 guards trained.Driver training has been fast-tracked from an average 18 to 12 months to complete, with the aim to bring that down to nine months.QR chief executive Nick Easy said the operator was making significant process in recruiting and training more drivers and guards, following recruitment activities internally and with past QR employees."We are committed to becoming a modern, world-class railway and boosting our train crew numbers is critical to increasing services for our customers," he said.QR opened recruitment to external applicants with no prior experience on Thursday night. QR would not answer questions about the number of new applications it had received since then.A south-east Queensland trainee driver earns a base salary of $92,315, while a qualified driver makes $98,211, with five weeks' annual leave and free rail travel to work.Trainee guards earn $81,237, while qualified guards make $92,315.Potential train drivers must pass an online application, along with cognitive and psychomotor assessments.They must attend an information session, group exercises, a panel interview, and have reference checks, a health assessment and national police check before receiving an offer of employment.The health examination can include hearing, vision and musculoskeletal, heart function, cholesterol and glucose blood levels, psychological health, sleep patterns and substance use tests.On Thursday, QR and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union went head-to-head in the Fair Work Commission over the hiring of external train drivers.The RTBU had lodged a formal dispute with QR to stop the operator proceeding with external recruitment.QR pursued a resolution through the commission, which ruled in the government's favour on Thursday afternoon.Mr Easy said QR would continue to work in good faith with the unions through the recruitment process.Asked if the new train drivers would be ready for the Commonwealth Games in April 2018, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: "Of course we're expecting that to be the case."www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queen ... 4yvog.html* That seems very good pay. People train at university, running up massive HECS debts, to earn considerably less than these train drivers and guards.* Finally common sense.* How many applicants didn't get through all the hoops and hurdles? Not quite the full story.* All this strife goes back to the L.N.P. were in power and in not taking care of our future needs. After all they held the purse strings in allocation funds in training of new drivers.* Normally I support the unions, but the Rail, Tram and Bus Union should pull their head in on this one. There's no sensible reason why QR should recruit from in-house only.On the other side, why does it take so long for QR to train these people compared to other states? * I guess for only $6k per year difference the training can take as long as it likes. No rush, eh?

On Monday (6/1/17), Sunbus Cairns switched over to the same ticketing machines / printers currently used in SEQ. Even though nothing was launched around Go-Cards, the validators are showing as active with the usual message on the read-out (can't remember the exact wording off the top of my head...). This aligns Cairns very nicely with SEQ now with the Translink app in full service here with real-time in-app information.

From 18 December 2017 until 21 January 2018, there will be service changes across the Queensland Rail network.These changes are during a period of reduced patronage and will allow for reliable service delivery.

Also looks as this new timetable has affected the real-time information on thrid party apps like TripTastic and BrisbaneBus - real-time information for Brisabne Transport buses and QR trains is not available on the third-party apps, although it is available on the TransLink app.

Five-year-old ‘left’ on Logan Coaches school bus: mum.Brisbane 'Courier-Mail' January 23, 2018.A WOMAN says her young daughter was left trapped for hours on a school bus after apparently falling asleep on her ride home. Five-year-old Alyssa Jayde Langdon was found about 7.30pm on Monday after her panicked mother raised the alarm, posting on social media that her daughter had failed to board her bus home from Jimboomba State School.Police said the little girl was found about four and half hours after the first school day of the year ended. They said she was asleep but could not say where the bus was found.Five-year-old Alyssa Jayde Langdon had quite the adventure on her first day of school.Initial investigations reveal the bus driver did not complete an “end of run sweep”.Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had been briefed on the issue and would direct the Department of Transport to write to bus companies to remind them of their obligations.“I’ve just had some preliminary reports back about the initial investigation and it appears the driver did not do the end of run sweep as drivers are supposed to do with those bus companies,” she said.“So I think it’s a timely reminder for those bus companies to ensure that is done. There was also some issues about how many students were supposed to be collected so let’s get the investigation finalised.“ I think it would be every parent’s worse nightmare not to have their child home from school, let alone a very young child.”The girl’s furious mother Bobbie Langdon says her daughter endured a terrifying and distressing ordeal and she wants to know how a young child could be left trapped on a school bus.“Alyssa was located petrified and crying banging on the school bus doors to get out,” she posted on Facebook.“For 5 long hours she slept her heat away (sic).“My daughter will not be attending Jimboomba State School anymore”, she said.First day at school for Gold Coast kids.Ms Langdon also claimed the bus company involved would be hearing from her lawyer.A spokesman for Logan Coaches says “the matter is being investigated”.Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was asked about the incident on ABC radio Tuesday morning.“I think it would have been a horrific few hours, not knowing what had happened to their daughter,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told 612 ABC.“Thankfully she has been found safe.“I think this is a wake up call to the bus companies to ensure that they do check their buses.“But also too, we need to make sure that young students are familiar with their bus routes as well.“I hope that bus company will do a review about that happened, and ensure that it definitely doesn’t happen again.”The Premier said that drivers should actually go and check their bus at the end of the route.“If they finish for the day they should go and double check that there is no one in those seats.“You’ve got young students, you’ve got young kids. I’m just thankful that she has been found safe and well.”She said the minister for Transport and the Education minister would likely talk to the bus company.“There are hundreds of thousands of students that travel on buses, this is unfortunate event, but most of the time the students do get to where they need to go.”www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ ... 708be790a5